Fall2012
Throughout the history of Latin America, the ideal Latin American has shifted and changed. From period to period the heros and regular citizens embody different ideals. Perceptions of the 'perfect man' or 'perfect woman' shift with the values of the time. Heroes of each period embodied some values while shirking others for the greater good of Latin America as a whole. On this Wiki page we will be focusing on these cultural and social changes in this region. We will be answering the question: What are the ideal characteristics of a Latin American and how have perceptions changed over time? The Encounter At the time of the European conquest of the Americas, there was no unified sense of Latin American identity. What existed there was a clash of very different cultures -- the Iberian and the indigenous. Thus, the ideal characteristics of a man or woman varied depending on the culture to which an individual belonged. From the European perspective, Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes could be seen as the model to be emulated. Cortes overthrew the Aztec empire by creating alliances with other tribes and capturing the emperor Moctezuma. The Spaniards' superior weapons technology would have been viewed as military strength by the Europeans. The strength, diplomacy, and courage that the Europeans believed Cortes to possess paint a clear picture of the ideal European man at the time. Additionally, successful conquistadors were given encomiendas by the Spanish crown. They received large plots of land to manage and were "entrusted" with indigenous people for workers. The fact that the encomiendas were given as rewards shows that leadership ability was also highly valued in European men. In order to use the indigenous people for labor, the encomenderos were responsible for converting them to Christianity. Religiously, the ideal European of the time was a devout Christian. Christianity was of great importance to the Europeans because it could be used to justify the conquest of indigenous groups. Colonial Crusible After the conquest of Latin America, Spain and Portugal ruled over the land and people for three centuries. Rulers had dreamt of a place where the King and God were cherished. What they received however, was resentment from the start, Latin Americans were hoping for a future of independence. After time, citizens of the Latin American countries became accustom to the Catholic faith and developed respect for their rulers, the King and Queen whether it be from Spain or Portugal. Colonization was a social, cultural, and psychological change that all Latin Americans had to endure. Independence During the early 1800s Latin America underwent major political, social and economic changes. It was clear that the need to be free of European constraint was growing. Those that stand out in history are the ones with bravery, charisma and machismo to lead others in revolt. Men from this time period such as Father Hildago, Simon Bolivar, Agustin I, and many more can be viewed today as being ideal Latin Americans because they obtained those characteristics of a strong leader. Agustin de Iturbide (September 27, 1783 - July 19, 1824) was world renown for the part that he played in the Mexican Revolution for independence. Mexico was a Spanish territory and the lives of all the indigenous were being controlled by the followers of the Spanish king. Many small revolts broke out and one was lead by Agustin. He easily inspired a large following of Mexican citizens, however, his revolt was eventually crushed by Spanish forces.? Although he was not immediately sucessful, Agustin still was able inspire a? strong following? from his fellow citizens. His charismatic traits and ere of confidence made him the type of person that could rally a revolt and that people desired to have as a leader. When Mexico eventually did gained independence, Agustin was able to declare himself emperor (May 19, 1822 - March 19, 1823). He was briefly removed from office because he was accused of having corruptions in his office. However, he was soon returned to a? military reign after he insisted repeatedly that his predecessors were sacrilegious. His gift for speaking was one of the most important traits of Latin Americans during a time when the main focus was achieveing independence. Postcolonial Blues After independence had been gained the search for liberty and equality seemed to be on the minds of many Latin Americans. There were high hopes for true democracy and a new government, but in the end constitution after constitution and fight after fight ruled the countries of Latin America. The newly made government remained very unstable during this time. Many people wondered how much trust to put in it because it had taken so much time for even the King to gain loyalty. Many people began siding with people having the same views. This was the beginning of the Liberal and Conservative political parties. While many Latin Americans started out this time period calling for a liberalized government, soon many had fallen back into the conservative group because of the allure of their traditional values. Government soon became very unstable with a string of presidents and representatives coming in and out of office. Both the conservatives and liberals began using the office as a way of personal gain instead of trying to improve the entire country. Caudillos began coming into power by giving extravagant gifts and promises to people in return for their loyalty. Caudillos were generally large landowners with enough money to maintain their patronage and private armies. Patronage—or gifts for loyalty became a driving factor in the slow economies (Chasteen, 122). People were driven by what could benefit them instead of what could benefit the state. One such caudillo was Juan Manuel de Rosas. Rosas dominated Argentina for years. He was a cattle rancher that was known to use violence against his political opponents. He demanded his picture be hung in churches and that people wear ribbons in support of him. Anyone caught not wearing a ribbon could be beaten right there on the street. Rosas gained his following by marketing himself as "a man of the people" (Chasteen, 124) He made sure people saw him as one of them, especially the fellow cattle ranchers. The ideal Latin American woman of the time was expected to be prim and proper and follow all of society's rules for her. She was supposed to stay home and take care of the house and kids and be there for her husband when he wanted her. It was not proper for her to make rash decisions or manipulate her limited independence. During this time, Camila O'Gorman was a great example of what women were not expected to do. She became pregnant by and ran away with a priest. Many people placed blame on Juan Manuel de Rosas. With many of the population questioning his leadership ability. Rosas would not tolerate this and vowed to hunt them down and be done with the situation. The two of them were able to hide for a time, but eventually they were found. Though she was far along in her pregnancy, they were both executed by a firing squad. At first the people were terrified of the message a young lady like O'Gorman would send to children and other young women. She went against all standards set for proper ladies of the time. However, with her execution came cries of brutality. They could not believe Rosas would punish a lady and her unborn child so harshly even with her poor behavior. The reactions of the people to the O'Gorman and her priest lover was a normal reaction of the time. Currently, priests are allowed to marry, but even if they weren't, it would not cause a scandal such as this. The priest was killed as well because his actions were frowned upon as well as hers, however, the mindset of the time really placed her in the nations eye of wrongdoing. Progress Between 1850 and 1890, Latin America gained substantial progress. This period was heavily influenced by the struggles between Conservatives and Liberals, with Liberals gaining the momentum they’d been waiting for. The Liberals tended to be mobile families while the Conservatives were often those with a long lasting family status. Women also gained substantial progress during this period. Strong Liberalists that guided major progress included Juan Alverez, Benito Juarez, and Juana Manuela Gorriti. During this time of progress, a heavy European influence was seen. With it brought modern amenities such as electricity, railroads, and telegraphs. While this seems great, it also brought with it even more dependency on other countries, particularly in Europe. In this time we start to see the very apparent class struggles, and the wealth gap between the two. The ideal Latin American in this time would accept the European influence, but would hold true to their Latin American roots. Benito Juarez shows that the people of Latin America could in fact succeed if enough effort was put towards it, but he left his old identity behind him. While this was typical of the time, it was not what the people of the Latin Americas would want. He became a symbol that through progress, you could become something much better, but you would have to leave your former self behind. These themes just continue the past and future themes, where the Latin Americans become more and more dependent on others, instead of just accepting themselves and working towards a common goal of the people. Neocolonialism Neocolonialism is when a more powerful country dominates a less powerful country using wealth and stability, it is usually done in order to gain resourses. Nationalism Nationalism, basically, is a movement in which people of a country band together for the further advancement of the nation as a whole, and don't focus on each person on an individual basis. "For nations to be united internally, they have to know who they are; they need a clear and positive sense of national identity" (Chasteen 217). The nationalist movement in Latin America stemmed from the disagreements between the Creoles and the Peninsulares. Most of the new nationalists were middle-class, mestizo people, as well as some people of much higher or lower socioeconomic statuses as well. Nationalist supporters ranged everywhere from the lowest class, full of mestizo people to the very highest class people such as Vargas. These people were brought together to band against imperialism and the foreign influence in Latin America that was present through the economy and military presence. Throughout this time, many artists and writers illustrated Mexican nationalism through paintings and stories that spread worldwide and shed light on what was occurring in Latin America at this time. Some of the most influential artists included Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera and one of the most influential authors was Jorge Amado. The machismo and marianismo qualities held by these people illustrate the changes in the ideal Latin American person over the Nationalist period of Latin America's history. "Nationalists did not take power everywhere in Latin America, but nationalism showed its political potency even where it did not rule. In many countries conservatives managed to co-opt nationalist influences or hold them in check (Chasteen 232). That was the case for places like Colombia and Venezuela, where nationalist reform had to wait. But in other places in Latin America, nationalism shined, places like Mexico. In Mexico, with the Revolution in full swing, the Constitution of 1917 showed nationalist inspiration. "Article 27 reclaimed for the nation all mineral rights, for instance to oil. It also paved the way for villages to recover common lands (called ejidos and for great estates to be subdivided and distributed to landless peasants" (Chasteen 224). The Constitution of 1917 also put into play protections such as wage and hour laws, pensions and social benefits. As well as limiting the privileges of foreigners and curbed the rights of the Catholic Church. The Revolution - which had been going on for seven decades - had been a profoundly formative national experience. With a new government in place, major improvements were happeing in Mexico. A road-building program was put into place as well as improvements to public education, reducing the country's 80 percent illiteracy rate. Then came the 1920's and 1930's, the nationalism of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo was widely shared in Mexico at this time. "Everything national had become fashionable - folk music (corridos) and dance (jarabes), traditional dishes (tamales and moles), old-style street theater (carpas), and artisan objects" (Chasteen 227). Nationalism was shown all around in Mexico but far away in Argentina and Uruguay, nationalism was different. Argentina and Uruguay were urbanized, literate and mainly middle-class, here nationalism was stronger. So in Argentina and Uruguay nationalists took over without revolution, and Uruguay had one of the most progressive governments around. In comes to play Uruguay's great nationalist reformer Jose Batlle y Ordonez who launched a reform movement known as Batllismo. Batllismo was more of a civic and economic nationalism that brought a great level of government involvement to the Uruguayan economy. "Uruguay became the hemisphere's first welfare state, complete with a minimum wage, regulated working conitions, accident insurance, paid holidays, and retirement benefits" (Chasteen 228). "Nationalism made the most striking changes when stable governments were able to combine mass mobilization with economic transformation. That transformation involved a rejection of the basic neocolonial model of export-oriented economic growth, which brings us to the Great Depression" (Chasteen 233). Nationalist movements throughout Latin America were energized by The Great Depression of the 1930's which saw neocolonialism subside to nationalism. As the 1930's progressed ISI (import-substitution industrialization) began to occur which gave the nationalist critics of economic imperialism a persuasive case against the old import/export trade. Now as Latin American idustrial production increased, so did the nationalists pride for industrialization. As far as nationalist politics in Brazil, Getulio Vargas was a hero in his own right. Getulio Vargas - who some called the Franklin D. Roosevelt of Brazil - first period in office was in 1930 - 1945, then later returned for a total of nineteen years as Brazilian president. "Vargas, like FDR, made famous the use of the radio and vastly expanded the national government" (Chasteen 236). Revolution The revolutionary time period in Latin America saw huge changes in the perception of what made an ideal Latin American. Everyday Latin Americans elected officials that embodied nationalist ideals, such as Jacobo Arbenz. They revered populist President Juan Perón and his wife Evita. To them, the ideal Latin American did not revolt and did not use violence to achieve their ideals. Revolutionaries, however, looked up to heroes like Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, and Tania. To them, those that did not revolt were less than ideal. They saw the way the poor people of the region were living and decided that anyone who could see their lives and not be motivated to action was not a true Latin American. Latin Americans were those who worked for decent standards of living for all. In this section we will discuss what made an ideal Latin American during the revolutionary period of Latin American history and analyze what made this ideal person different from the ideal people of other periods in history. Reaction The reactionary period in Latin America was a very bloody one. Countries prone to revolution and even some that were relatively docile compared to other countries were quickly taken over by military control to prevent any sort of Communist revolution. The United States played a large part in the military take over of these countries. US president John F Kennedy, in 1961, announced the "Alliance for Progress" which was meant to relieve some of the revolutionary pressures in Latin American countries. To acheive the goals of the plan, the US would supply foreign aid to countries that showed signs of revolutionary tendencies, in an attempt to increase the standard of living and ease the strong feelings of the working class. Some of these countries were Brazil, Cuba, Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile. The Alliance for Progress was a reaction to the Cuban revolution, but ultimately lost its momentum because the costs amounted to much more than supplying guns and counterinsurgency training. Various Latin American generals saw Communism as an inevitable change if nothing was actively done to prevent it. These generals began hunting down "internal enemies" who were anyone that could present a threat to democracy. The citizens of these Latin American countries began reacting to the military rule by strong opposition and rebellion. In Brazil, landowners fought hard against land reform. In 1978, there was a massive strike of workers in São Paulo that represented opposition to the military's regressive social policies. In many instances of the Cold War in Latin America, women were very prominent. In the late 1970s, women, called Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo, protested in downtown Buenos Aires in order to avenge their chil dren that "disappeared" in the midst of Argentina's dirty war. They didn't want Argentina to simply get away with the horrible events that took place. Rigoberta Menchú was a Quiché Mayan woman from a traditonal community who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 for calling world attention to the digusting nature of Guatemala's dirty war. And, many women fought in the FMLN in Salvador. Latin American women were beginning to stand up for what they believed in and represented the new, courageous actions of typical Latin American citizens. During this period the ideal Latin American would be people such as the Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo. They were ordinary people fighting for what they beleived in. With all the violence that was taking place during this time they managed to stay peacful and work for a cause that they felt very strongly about because they had been personally affected. Their ability to protest brought attention to many problems that were accuring in the Latin American government and initiated a change. Neoliberalism With both the revolution and reaction time periods over, Latin America was left with a high death count that was largely blamed on nationalism. This gave Neoliberalism to gain popularity during the 1990s. Neoliberalism was largely based on the United State's ideas for free trade, exports, and comparative advantage. Because free market was encouraged, state-run programs were immediately ended. Programs which once helped the poor buy affordable food and other public services were never to be seen again. Latin America also began importing American products and technology for low prices. These American products ended up only being used by the middle class and rich since they were, once again, the only groups that benifited during this time period.